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Case #9386 Rating: 4.0 out of 5
Dogs seized from junkyard, 6 dead, 12 barely alive
Houston, TX (US)Incident Date: Thursday, Feb 28, 2002
County: Harris
Disposition: Convicted
Defendant/Suspect: L. D. Pitts
Case Updates: 1 update(s) available
L. D. Pitts, 57, has been charged with animal cruelty when six dead dogs and more than a dozen badly neglected, starving dogs were found in a junkyard where he lives.
Pitts, who is in Harris County Jail, said a neighbor killed the dogs because of their barking.
Pitts said, ""People don't understand. This (raising dogs) is my hobby. I don't have kids; I don't have family. They are my family." He said he receives an $800 veterans' pension and uses about $600 from that to buy dog food.
The SPCA rescued the last of the dogs which included two little puppies that were covered in fleas and were severely malnourished. An investigator for the Houston Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said, "I don't see any reason why those little guys shouldn't have a shot at a life."
In 1995, the authorities seized more than 40 animals being held by Pitts in what were considered substandard conditions. Jim Boller, a SPCA chief investigator, said he has repeatedly removed animals from the property since then. "We have a large case file on Mr Pitts. He is basically the classic harder. He just continues to collect dogs."
Boller said he didn't think Pitts is malicious but Pitts' actions still amount to cruelty. Pitts doesn't want the dogs to go to the humane society to be killed. Because he doesn't have the financial means to get the animals medical care he is still cruelly treating and depriving the animals.
Volunteers were looking for a missing child when they stumbled upon the junkyard and found dead and starving dogs on the property where Pitts lived.
Case UpdatesL. D. Pitts, 57, has been convicted by a six person jury which recommended a sentence of two years' probation. Judge Michael Peters agreed with the jury and imposed their recommendation. He must also perform 120 hours of community service.
Pitts has already spent 57 days in the Harris County Jail.
If Pitts violates his probation conditions, he could be locked up for one year.
Pitts and his assorted animals have been in the news since 1989 when he had more than 40 of the 50 dogs he was keeping in a vacant truck garage seized.
In 1995 the SPCA was awarded custody of 43 dogs and nine cats that had been taken from Pitts home. Some of the animals seized in 1995 had medical problems. | Source: Houston Chronicle - June 27, 2002
Update posted on Jul 28, 2006 - 11:06AM |
References- Houston Chronicle - Mar 20, 2002
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